“Low sodium”, “fat free”, “reduced sugar”, “good source of fiber”, “healthy”: every one of these is a defined term with a number behind it in 21 CFR 101.13 through 101.65. Use the words and your food has to meet the number, on the basis the rule names (per reference amount, per labeled serving, sometimes per 50 g). These pages give the threshold for each claim, the exact wordings FDA allows, the reference-food rule for comparative claims, and the traps.
21 claims covered. Each page cites the current eCFR text and notes when it was last checked.
Find the claim
| Claim | Threshold | Reference food? | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium free | <5 mg sodium per RACC and per labeled serving (no per-50 g test) | No | 21 CFR 101.61(b)(1) |
| Low sodium | ≤140 mg/RACC (≤35 mg very low); +/50 g if RACC ≤30 g/2 tbsp; ≤140/35 mg/100 g meal/main | No | 21 CFR 101.61(b)(4); 21 CFR 101.61(b)(2) for very low sodium |
| Reduced sodium | ≥25% less sodium per RACC than reference food; light/lite in sodium ≥50% less per RACC | Yes | 21 CFR 101.61(b)(6); 21 CFR 101.56(c) for light in sodium; 21 CFR 101.13(j) for reference food |
| Fat free | <0.5 g fat per RACC and per labeled serving (meal/main dish: <0.5 g per labeled serving) | No | 21 CFR 101.62(b)(1) |
| Low fat | ≤3 g fat/RACC (and /50 g if RACC ≤30 g/2 tbsp); meal/main ≤3 g/100 g, ≤30% cal from fat | No | 21 CFR 101.62(b)(2) |
| Reduced fat | ≥25% less fat/RACC than reference food; unavailable if reference already meets 'low fat' | Yes | 21 CFR 101.62(b)(4) |
| Saturated fat free | <0.5 g saturated fat AND <0.5 g trans fat per RACC and per labeled serving | No | 21 CFR 101.62(c)(1) |
| Low saturated fat / Reduced saturated fat | ≤1 g sat fat/RACC, ≤15% cal from sat fat (no 50 g test); meal/main ≤1 g/100 g, <10% cal | No for 'low'; Yes for 'reduced' | 21 CFR 101.62(c)(2) |
| Cholesterol free | <2 mg cholesterol per RACC and per labeled serving AND ≤2 g saturated fat per RACC | No | 21 CFR 101.62(d)(1) |
| Low cholesterol | ≤20 mg cholesterol/RACC (and per 50 g if RACC ≤30 g/2 tbsp) AND ≤2 g sat fat/RACC | No | 21 CFR 101.62(d)(2) |
| Calorie free | <5 calories per RACC and per labeled serving | No | 21 CFR 101.60(b)(1) |
| Low calorie | ≤40 cal/RACC (and /50 g if RACC ≤30 g/2 tbsp, except sugar subs); ≤120 cal/100 g meal/main | No | 21 CFR 101.60(b)(2) |
| Reduced calorie / Fewer calories | ≥25% fewer cal/RACC than reference food (or per 100 g meal/main dish, 101.60(b)(5)) | Yes | 21 CFR 101.60(b)(4) |
| Light / Lite | ≥50% cal from fat: fat cut ≥50%. Else: cal cut ≥1/3 or fat cut ≥50%. Sodium: cut ≥50% | Yes | 21 CFR 101.56(b) |
| Sugar free | <0.5 g sugars per RACC and per labeled serving; no sugar-source ingredient unless trivial | No | 21 CFR 101.60(c)(1) |
| Reduced sugar | ≥25% less sugars per RACC than an appropriate reference food | Yes | 21 CFR 101.60(c)(5) |
| No added sugar | No sugar or sugar-source ingredient added during processing; not a gram cutoff | No | 21 CFR 101.60(c)(2) |
| Good source of [nutrient] | 10–19% of the RDI or DRV per RACC (fiber, protein, potassium, vitamins, minerals only) | No | 21 CFR 101.54(c) |
| High in / Rich in / Excellent source of [nutrient] | ≥20% of the RDI or DRV per RACC ("high potency" ≥100%) | No | 21 CFR 101.54(b) |
| More / Added / Extra / Fortified / Enriched [nutrient] | ≥10% more of the RDI/DRV per RACC than the reference food | Yes | 21 CFR 101.54(e) |
| Healthy | Food-group minimum + added sugars/sodium/sat fat %DV limits by category | No | 21 CFR 101.65(d) |
Three things every claim has in common
First, the claim is judged on the unrounded analysis, not the rounded number printed on the panel: your label can show 0 g fat and still fail “fat free” if your food has 0.49 g per serving and 0.6 g per RACC. Second, making any nutrient content claim removes the labeling exemptions you may have been relying on. The under-12-square-inch exemption, the insignificant-nutrient exemption and the small-business exemption all fall away the moment a claim appears (21 CFR 101.9(j)). Third, a claim on a food that is high in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol or sodium has to carry a disclosure statement pointing to the panel (21 CFR 101.13(h)). The nutrient content claims rule page covers the general framework; rounding rules covers the numbers behind the panel.
How the builder helps
The NutriLabels builder checks your product against every claim threshold on every basis the rule names and tells you which claims, and which exact wordings, your product qualifies for, so the decision is made from the numbers rather than from hope.
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